The Exit Strategies Workshop - March 1, 2012 - SFU Surrey
for Investors, Companies and Advisors in Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver areas
Exit Strategies is an advanced Investor-Ready™ workshop for investors, entrepreneurs and advisors on March 1, 2012 in Surrey.
Investors and Companies need an exit strategy first before investing or founding a company. A faculty of experienced angel investors, serial entrepreneurs and expert advisors, (Basil Peters, Steven Lukas, Axel Christiansen and others TBA) deliver the Investor Ready™ content.
Every time this workshop has been offered in downtown Vancouver it sold out. Fall 2011 sold out earlier than ever before, which prompted us to offer the Exit Strategies Workshop for the first time in Surrey.
Click here for Early Bird Registration, and for more information. |
Section 1: Exits are the Best Part of Being an Entrepreneur or Investor |
- Entrepreneurs and investors would have more fun, and more money, if we had more exits
- Exits are not well understood
- Exits are an under utilized business, and life, strategy
- Why exits have changed so dramatically recently
- Big companies suck at innovation
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- The best way for big companies to grow
- Most exits are under $15 million
- Google wants to buy "pre-revenue"
- Sales are often just 2 or 3 years from startup
- The current exit environment is hot
- We are really good at early exits in BC
- This is a golden era for tech entrepreneurs and angels
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Section 2: Every Company Should Have a Signed Exit Strategy |
- Companies should be sold, not bought
- The exit is just another business process
- Decide what your goals are
- Determine the kind of company you have
- How to design your exit strategy
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- Building alignment on your exit strategy
- Corporate DNA
- The Equity Effect - a critical timing factor
- Vesting - being fair to the founders
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Section 3: Financing Strategy and How It Will Affect Your Exit |
- Exits and Investors
- Investors' DNA
- Bootstrapping
- Friends and Family - the really big money
- Why VCs will block good exit
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- Angel investors
- Angels fund 27x more startups than VCs
- Choosing between angels and VCs
- Who gets to vote on the exit?
- Investment Terms Sheets and Exits
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Section 4: Buyers for Your Company |
- Who are the buyers for companies like yours?
- Why the number of buyers is increasing
- Big companies have too much cash
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- Small company and Boomer buyers
- Why your buyer might be a public company
- Why your buyer might be in Asia
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Section 5: How Early Can You Sell? |
- A common misperception is that the company needs to be profitable
- Or over $ X million in revenues
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- All you need to do is prove the model
- Zero revenue companies get bought all the time
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Section 6: Timing - Don't Ride It Over the Top |
- The most common mistake entrepreneurs make
- Where our human nature defeats us
- Why most boards wait too long to start the exit
- Watch out for "Waves of Consolidation"
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- Getting some advice on timing your exit
- How long does it take?
- Steps in the exit process
- What if one firm says they can do it faster?
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Section 7: Valuation - How Much Can You Sell For? |
- How Much Can You Sell for?
- Valuation Methodologies
- Don't pay for a valuation
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- Factors that affect your valuation
- Things you can do now to increase value
- How patents play into valuation
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Section 8: Executing Your Exit |
- The sales collateral
- Building the financial model
- Preparing your selling document
- The magic of "Secondary Sales"
- The sales funnel for your exit
- Record keeping and information management
- The Hell of Due Diligence
- The buyers will know more about your business than you do
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- Tax Planning - Start Years Before the Exit
- The Costs and Financing Your Exit
- Doing a Bridge Financing
- The letter of intent, offer, deposit and exclusivity
- Employment Agreements
- Reps and Warrantees
- Closing
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Section 9: The Exit Team |
- Exits are an enormous amount of work
- A good team will increase the chance of success
- Why the CEO should not lead
- The Role of the M&A Advisor
- Great M&A Advisors
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- Why your M&A advisor should be local
- M&A Advisors in Vancouver
- A new professional: The Exit Coach
- Lawyers - you need a specialist
- Accountants, Tax Advisors, Auditors
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Section 10: How to Sell for 50% More |
- Inefficient markets
- Strategic Value
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- Multiple bidders
- Great M&A Advisors
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Section 11. Local Case Studies |
- Local case studies of recent exits
- Confidential Early Exits
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- Parasun Case Study
- Other local exits
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Section 12. What Could You Be Doing in 12 Months? |
- Anxiety before closing and what will you do after?
- Congratulations - You're Rich
- What's next?
- What will you do with all that time?
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- What to do with all that money?
- The challenges that wealth creates
- Professional financial advisors
- Generational wealth transfer
- Opportunities to 'put something back'
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Special Bonus |
Every attendee will receive a complimentary copy
of Basil Peters' book:
Early Exits: Exit Strategies for Entrepreneurs and Angel Investors
(But Maybe Not Venture Capitalists) |
